Bale processors are devices used to spread the content of bales of forage in a controlled way for reasons such as mulching or feeding livestock. Examples of bale processors are shown in application PCT/US2011/058514, filed Oct. 31, 2011, to Graham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,911 to Patterson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,824 to Hruska, U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,784 to Lischynski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,763 to Lepage et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,691 to Helmeczi et al. and Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0086857 to Lepage et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
One of the most popular configurations of bale processors includes a processing tub, that holds the bale while it is being processed, mounted to a frame with a hitch on the front, and a bale lift device at the back. The processing tub includes a conveyor located at the bottom, adjacent a rotor. The conveyor is configured move the round bale so that a portion of the bale comes into contact with the rotor. A portion of the bale also comes in contact with a side of the tub, a generally planar side panel that is positioned in a generally vertical orientation, adjacent to the rotor. These three devices, the conveyor, the rotor and the first side panel, work together to cause the round bale to rotate about its axis while the rotor cuts or tears a layer of material off the bale. The tubs generally include a second side panel, on the side of the machine opposite the first side panel, so that the conveyor can move the bale in either direction, so that the bale can be forced to rotate either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The bale lift device is positioned to place the bale approximately in the center of the tub, between the two side panels.
These aforementioned bale processors were developed specifically to process round bales and they are not effective in processing large square bales (i.e. bales that are square or rectangular in cross section).
One company, Brandt, developed and marketed a bale processor a brochure of which is cited in the invention disclosure statement of the instant patent file. The Brant bale processor, model VSF-X, was advertised by Brant as being able to process both large square bales and large round bales that included a conveyor at the bottom of its tub oriented at a 4.5 degree slope. This Brandt machine had a square bale kit that added the capability that the second side of the tub could be repositioned into a generally horizontal orientation, with an upper surface generally aligned with the upper surface of the conveyor. The combination of the conveyor and the side panel in the horizontal position defined a feed deck. This feed deck supported a large square bale, with about one half of the bale on the side panel and the other half on the conveyor, it being surmised that the feed conveyor was used to move the bale towards the rotor. The side panel of this product was positioned with a hydraulic cylinder, in either (1) a raised position for processing round bales, or (2) in a lowered position for processing square bales.
The Brandt bale lift device was modified for the square bale kit, to include bale forks that would pick-up and load a square bale off-set from the original center of the tub, the center of the side panels when both are in a vertical position, to place the bale on the feed deck, with approximately half of the bale supported by the second side panel when in the horizontal orientation.
Accordingly, a bale processor that will efficiently process both round and square bales is needed.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.